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Why Game Exclusivity Deals Are Feeding the Hate

Posted by Soulskill on from the cut-it-out-jerks dept.

Parz writes "The recent announcement that the upcoming Ghostbusters game will be a timed PlayStation exclusive in the PAL territories — revealed a mere month before release — has set a nasty precedent which could have long-term repercussions for the industry. This Gameplayer article explores how this generation of gaming has spiraled into a tit-for-tat war on third-party exclusivity deals instigated by Sony and Microsoft, and the effect it is having on the psychology of the consumers. The Ghostbusters developers aren't pleased by Sony's deal, and the Guardian questions whether the game will be big enough to really affect console sales."

5 of 205 comments (clear)

  1. Stupid article by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So when Sony does it, its bad; but when Microsoft does it, its ok?

    Seems like the author is just pissed that he has to wait for the game.

    Now you know how PS3 owners felt about Bioshock, Fallout 3 DLC, etc.

  2. The whole deal is fanboy fodder by nschubach · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't.

    I can't count the number of people complaining about lost exclusives and lack of obtaining them... now that they are stepping up, the stories come out on how it's bad...

    So you have a choice. Piss of fanboys by not getting exclusives or piss off fanboys for getting them and obtaining sales.

    I'm not a fan of exclusiveness in itself. It limits consumer choice. Choice in the best hardware to run their favorite games in this case. I personally think there's only one company right now that can win that war, and it's not Sony.

    --
    Every time I start to have faith in humanity, I ruin it by driving to work between 7 and 8 am.
  3. Incredible, you don't say... by greentshirt · · Score: 5, Informative

    How is this news? Consoles were built on exclusive content, all gamers know that. You can't play Sonic on SNES, you can't play Mario on Sega Genesis, etc.

  4. Expectations by Translation+Error · · Score: 5, Insightful

    While most people generally find exclusives a bit annoying but acceptable, this particular case is different. This isn't Nintendo announcing the next Mario game--only on the Wii. This is a game that was already announced as being multiplatform and even had a release date, but suddenly it's become a timed exclusive for one system. The versions for the other systems will all be ready, but Sony's holding them back. Worse yet, this news is coming with almost no advance warning.

    A big, shiny prize was dangled in front of people and it's been snatched away at the last second. Of course people are going to be angry.

    --
    When someone says, "Any fool can see ..." they're usually exactly right.
  5. Re:Microsoft Invented It by Tom9729 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Halo was going to be a Mac game until Microsoft bought Bungie. Then it was an Xbox exclusive for awhile and was later released on both PC and Mac.